SAM Completes Heritage Projects

            SAM has completed three important projects funded by grants awarded to the organization by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.

            The Fund receives money from a dedicated instant lottery game, and awards grants twice a year.

            Final reports to the MOHF Board were delivered in September, for the following projects.

ATV Conference

The objective of this project was to organize a statewide conference on the issues and problems of all terrain vehicles (ATVs), with participation by ATV manufacturers, retailers, riders, clubs, large and small landowners, law enforcement and state agencies, and outdoor recreation groups.

We hoped to provide a comprehensive presentation of all the issues and problems associated with ATV use in Maine, offer insight into solutions to these problems that have been implemented elsewhere, create a list of potential solutions and recommendations to address ATV problems in Maine, and find consensus on solutions and recommendations that can be pursued with the support of most of the active and interested parties.

The conference was a tremendous success, far exceeding our expectations.  Not only did it result in agreement – by the widely diverse audience – on solutions to Maine’s ATV problems, but it also led directly to a decision by Governor Baldacci to convene an ATV Task Force to pursue those solutions.  That Task Force is currently at work, led by DIF&W Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques. 

Conference speakers, including those from New Brunswick, Canada and Virginia, offered valuable insight into the ways in which other jurisdictions are dealing with ATV issues and challenges.

The MOHF Application predicted a cost of $15,000.  We actually spent $14,881.76.   The MOHF grant provided $11,320, and a matching grant of $3,000 was received from International Paper Company Foundation

Cate Pineau of Pineau Policy Associates and Roberta Scruggs were retained to organize the conference, and were paid a total of $9,392.87 for their services, including expenses.  Those services included everything from recruiting the speakers to preparing background material for the event.  They did a superb job. 

Gun Safety Courses

The objective of this project was to research firearms safety courses not available for public school students, and identify those that would be suitable to be included in the health and safety curriculum of the Learning Results program in Maine.  After identifying suitable programs, we expressed our hope of developing ways to make those programs readily and inexpensively available to Maine school systems, in a second phase of the project.

Consultant Roberta Scruggs was retained to do the research and write the report. 

The MOHF application listed a total project cost of $3000.  We actually spent $3,784.16.  Scruggs was paid $3,113.84, including expenses.  The remaining funds were spent to print both color and black/white copies of the report.

MOHF provided $1,880, and SAM’s Conservation Education Fund provided the balance of $1,904.16.  The MOHF application reported a pledge of $500 from Pine Tree State Rifle & Pistol Association, but after repeated requests, we were unable to obtain fulfillment of that pledge.

The research and report delivered some rather remarkable – and unexpected – conclusions. 

The Executive Summary reports:  “Although gun safety programs have been developed with the best of intentions, there is an underlying problem.  Such programs place the responsibility for gun safety on children themselves.  And it’s a burden they cannot safely bear… The major lesson learned from the research is that gun safety programs alone cannot and should not be relied upon to keep kids safe.  They must be part of a larger system that helps insure children don’t have access to weapons.”

A number of recommendations were included in this report, and SAM is pursuing all of them to some degree.  But because of the remarkable findings, we are concentrating first on expansion of our safe gun storage initiative with the partnership of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.

The entire report is available on SAM’s website (samcef.org).  Members are encouraged to read the entire report.  It is a remarkable document, and had a significant impact on our Board of Directors and organization and our approach to gun safety and education issues and programs. 

Fisheries Brochure

In 2001, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife used a grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund to create a brochure to educate anglers and the general public about the negative impacts of the illegal or accidental introduction of invasive plant and fish species into Maine waters.  Sixty thousand brochures were printed and quickly distributed by SAM, DIF&W, and the Department of Environmental Protection.

This new project sought funding to print another 50,000 brochures.

We did print another 50,000 brochures, at a cost of $3,960, paid to URSUS Productions, the firm that designed the brochure and contracted the printing.  We made one design change:  adding the MOHF logo to the brochure.

The MOHF grant provided $3,130, and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife each contributed $415.

Most of the brochures went to DIF&W for distribution, but SAM retained some brochures that are offered in our booth at various events.